I Just Wanna Say I Love You!
by LuffyKun3695
Summary: ON HIATUS! Sakura's just made an inner revelation: she loves NARUTO! Can she tell him? What's he doing dating Hinata? And who is this crazy new ninja? Can she help push Naruto and Sakura together? Naruto/Sakura. Sasuke/OC. Some Yaoi/Yuri.
1. Sakura and the Mind Reader

**Love's in the air in the Konoha Village! And Sakura's just made an inner revelation; she's in love with NARUTO! Can she tell him? What's he doing on a date with Hinata! Has he forgotten about her! And who is this mysterious girl who's stolen Sasuke's heart away? [NaruSaku SasuOC]**

I just re-edited this entire story. I am making as many changes as needed, in hopes that it will inspire me to finish up the damn story. I've been trying, so what?

**About Shikai Kana:** She's an OC. She's based _very_ loosely off of me, but she is NOT a Mary-Sue. She's far from perfect. She doesn't have a dark past. She isn't going to have every boy fall in love with her. She is not related to anyone in Konoha. Shikai means "Sight" and Kana means "Power" She was originally named "Luffy" but I changed it. Her bloodline limit is Mind-Reading. It's a "third-eye" called the _Shinregaku-Me _meaning _psychic eye_. She has to expand little chakra to read basic thoughts, though it is often muddled. She has to use significantly more chakra to predict movements of her opponent in battle.

When I started writing this story I hadn't decided which Sasuke couplings I liked yet. All I knew what I **hated **SasuSaku. Now, I have an extensive list, but this story is already started.

This is a very short first chapter but I don't care. I wrote this a very long time ago. It was my first fanfiction and the first one I ever put online. I can't stress that enough. I'm working very hard to make this good. I know it won't get as much love as my others because I have an OC in it, but hell, shut up, I didn't know.

ANYWAY. This is written pre-Shippuden. Please do not forget that.

**Main Pair: **Naruto/Sakura

**Secondary Pair: **Sasuke/OC  
**Featured Pairs:** Ino/Shikamaru, Temari/TenTen, Neji/Hinata  
**Mentioned Pairs:** Asuma/Kurenai, Jiraiya/Tsunade

**Dedications:** _This story is dedicated to __**MelanieStar**__ who was my first real reviewer and liked my stories. I really enjoy her reviews. I hope she stays around. She's a real sweetie. X3_

**Warnings:** _If you consider NejiHina incest, then there's incest and if you consider yuri bad, then there's some TemaTen. So suck it up. There's a little language and some light sexual humor. *faux gasp*_

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
Fiction and Shikai Kana © Courtney Dracon (LuffySP)

* * *

**I Just Wanna Say "I Love You"**

Chapter 1: _Sakura and Kana_

"I love you,"

"Aishiteru!"

"Te amo."

"I, Sakura Haruno, LOVE YOU!"

Sakura sighed and stared at her own reflection. She brushed her rose colored bangs from her emerald eyes and inhaled.

"I love you." The words came out in a smooth, blunt fashion. She smiled at her mirror twin. "I like it." She told herself. He wouldn't understand beating around the bush. Her heart skipped a beat suddenly. She was really going to do this.

She was really going to confess her love to Naruto.

It had taken her too long to realize how she felt about her teammate. She could not believe she had been so blind. Naruto had always been there for her, yet she had been far too obsessed with Sasuke to see the boy waiting patiently by her side. She had never even bothered to give him a chance.

That was about to change.

However; doubts crushed momentary elation. What if he rejected her? She had spent such a long time trailing after Sasuke, he could have gotten bored. He could have moved on. That little purple-haired girl followed him around constantly. It was obvious she had a crush on him. What if he reciprocated her feelings?

Sakura attempted to shake these thoughts from her head, _"He likes you right?"_ she told herself. _"It'll be fine. You'll confess and he'll sweep you off your feet onto his white stallion and you'll ride off into the sunset." _Sakura reassured herself. She looked back up into the mirror. Fear made her look pale. She needed makeup. Fiddling through the piles of beauty products on her vanity, she brightened her cheeks and eyes with a few small strokes of a brush.

She chose a blue top with short, puffed sleeves and a black skirt. The top had a low scoop neck she thought made her look just a _little _bit more gifted in the T&A department. She grabbed her bag and called her goodbyes over her shoulder, rushing out the door.

- 0 -

Sakura trotted down the streets of Konohagakure, searching for Naruto. Until recently, she most likely would have been searching for Sasuke, but things had changed. Consumed by her own thoughts, Sakura didn't notice where she was walking. She crashed into a girl.

The girl fell on her behind and let out a low grunt. She looked up at Sakura, "SORRY!" They said together; then laughed. Sakura held out her hand and helped her up.

Sakura surveyed the girl standing before her. She was taller than herself and her violet eyes were incredibly wide. She was foreign. The hiate headband on her forehead was that of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. The girl's hair was long and black, it fell past her waist. A long purple bang fell over her right eye. She was cute. The girl smiled at Sakura and held out her hand, Sakura took it and they shook hands. She had odd gloves on, ones without fingers. The dark haired girl dropped her hand.

"I'm Shikai Kana." The girl grinned to show sparkling white teeth, which were oddly sharp. Kana wore a black halter top. The collar wrapped around her neck like a choker. The fabric was oddly shiny, almost deep violet. Underneath the shirt were short fishnet sleeves and fishnet covered her flat stomach. Her eyes were so dark, they almost glittered. Kana hitched up her white skirt and grinned again. She treaded on one of her knee-high violet sandals. It was as if she didn't know what to say.

"Oh, hi!" Sakura greeted her pleasantly. "I'm Sakura Haruno." Kana studied Sakura intensely. Suddenly, Sakura felt a little self-conscious. It was as if Kana's eyes were burning through her.

"You're pretty." Kana stated plainly, looking Sakura up and down. Her eyes drifted over Sakura's low-cut blouse and stayed momentarily.

"Uh… thanks?" Sakura didn't exactly know how to respond to the comment. It was uncommon to meet a person and tell them how attractive you thought they were. _What was with this girl! _

"I've got to go see the Hokage." Kana looked up into her eyes this time. She placed a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Sorry to unnerve you like that," she apologized quickly, "but I thought you should know that the boy you like will think you're just as pretty as I think you are." She winked.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but Kana cut her off. "I can read minds." Sakura turned her head to the side. "It's a bloodline limit my clan shares." She explained quickly, "Now I really have to go, the Hokage is supposed to assign me a temporary team." She turned on her heel. "Why don't you try his favorite place? Boys aren't very difficult to predict." Kana included as she left, tripping over herself as she ran.

Sakura stood for a second, thinking. His favorite place? It hit her suddenly, _Ichiraku_! She sped off in the opposite direction.


	2. Ramen Here, Ramen There

The second chapter, with a REALLY long title; hope you like it. The edits made Luffy not "American" anymore. Her name is now Kana. A flamer pointed out there was no America in Naruto and he's right, so I'm making it a _little_ more realistic.

You do have to give me some credit. This was my _very _first fiction. So I didn't understand all the rules yet, nor was I as far into _Naruto_ as I am now. So bear with me, that's why I make these edits. I didn't know what a Mary-Sue was or the "rules" of fanfiction, which can be really annoying if you just want to learn.

Temari is visiting Konoha, shut up! I hate when people point out that she doesn't live there… I know she doesn't. She's from the Village of the Sand, I know. But let's say it's after the treaty and the Sand Sibs are playing in Konoha.

**Main Pair: **Naruto/Sakura  
**Secondary Pair: **Sasuke/OC  
**Featured Pairs: **Ino/Shikamaru, Temari/TenTen, Neji/Hinata  
**Mentioned Pairs: **Asuma/Kurenai, Jiraiya/Tsunade

**Warnings:** _If you consider NejiHina incest, then there's incest and if you consider yuri bad, then there's some TemaTen. So suck it up. There's a little language and some light sexual humor. *faux gasp*_

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
Fiction & Shikai Kana © Courtney Dracon (LuffySP)

* * *

Chapter 2: _Ramen Here! Ramen There! Ramen, Ramen Everywhere!_

Sakura slipped into _Ichiraku _as inconspicuously as possible. _Had she made it on time?_ She scanned the room, Naruto was at the bar eating ramen with Iruka. Her heart lurched. She could hear it beating in her ears. _LUB DUB! LUB DUB! LUB DUB! _

"Sakura-Chan!" she heard the familiar voice call her name. _Uh-oh_, Sakura plastered a fake grin on her face before she turned on her heel to find Ino's shiny face grinning at her. "Come over to our table!" Ino said, gesturing to a table to her right. She stole a glance at the bar in time to catch Naruto glimpsing in her direction. His sapphire eyes widened slightly.

"Our?" Sakura inquired, her gaze following Ino's finger. _OH CRAP! _She almost said it out loud. It was a table of competition: Hinata, Ino, Temari, TenTen, and the new girl, Kana. The four pretty girls grinned at her, waving their delicate painted fingers, flaunting their gorgeous figures and lovely smiles. Jealousy shot through her, an impending fear of losing what she had yet to gain.

"This is Shikai Kana. She's new, from the Village of the Hidden Clouds!" Ino motioned to Kana, tossing her blonde hair in habit. Sakura's eyes to shot towards the bar, checking to make sure that Naruto didn't notice the golden-maned goddess.

"We've met." Kana grinned, her fangs glinting in the light. She winked at Sakura. The pink haired girl turned crimson. Was this Kana _flirting _with her!?

Sakura seated herself next to Hinata. Hinata smiled shyly, in her usual manner. She looked nervous. She kept glancing in Naruto's direction, blushing ferociously. Sakura's heart went out to the purple haired girl. She could relate to the way Hinata was feeling. She felt the _exact _same way.

Yet, at the same time, she hated Hinata. What if Naruto didn't like her anymore? What if he liked Hinata? She had _always _had a crush on him. She hadn't fluttered around like Sakura. Hinata's emotions hadn't flitted from Sasuke to Naruto to Lee and back again, the way hers had. Naruto would probably like her better because of that…

- 0 -

_Naruto & Iruka…_

Meanwhile, Naruto continued to glance towards Sakura. God, she was beautiful. He adored the way she had her pink hair tied up. She looked so adorable. _And that outfit!_ It was loose and tight in all the right places. She looked fantastic! He sighed, she wasn't interested in him. She loved Sasuke.

Iruka eyed him. "What's wrong?" he asked politely, putting his arm around Naruto's shoulders.

For a moment, Naruto wondered if he should tell Iruka what was going on. It had been ages and ages since he was a thirteen year old boy. He probably couldn't even remember what it was like. "It's this girl," Naruto stared at his ramen, stirring it absentmindedly with his chopsticks. For the first time in his life, he wasn't that hungry for it. "I like her, but she likes someone else."

"You like Sakura, but she likes Sasuke," Iruka stated plainly. Naruto stared, dumbstruck. Iruka laughed, "I may be old, but I'm not dumb. Do you really think that we teachers are so thick that we don't pay any attention to you kids beyond your ninja skills?" he asked.

Naruto smiled, "She's totally in love with Sasuke and I don't know what to do about it." He sighed. Naruto shot a glimpse at Sakura's table again. She was deep in conversation with someone Naruto didn't recognize. "Who's that?" Naruto asked Iruka, gesturing at the dark haired kunoichi.

"Ah, that's Shikai Kana." Iruka informed him, "She's a ninja from the Village of the Hidden Clouds. We just signed a treaty with her village and we're basically using her time her as a way to seal the deal." He explained, "Kana will be staying in Konoha and joining a three man team temporarily to get a feel for the town. If she gives her Kage a good report, then the treaty will be permanent." Naruto pretended he understood the explanation by nodding slightly. Iruka could see through it, but he thought it was funny so he let him continue with his little charade of intelligence.

"Whose team will she be on?" Naruto asked, slurping up more ramen noodles. A few splashed onto his chin.

"Yours," Iruka smiled.

"WHAT?" Naruto choked on the noodles in his mouth. Iruka laughed and nodded, patting him on the back. Naruto considered it for a second, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. The girl seemed okay. He scratched his head absentmindedly and winded another bite of ramen around his chopsticks.

A small bell tinkled the arrival of a new costumer and Naruto instinctively turned to see who had just entered the shop. Dark hair and a brooding manner, _God no! Sasuke_! Naruto flinched involuntarily. This was bad. Sasuke looked around and then seated himself at the bar, one seat away from Naruto.

Iruka smiled slyly, "I'm gonna go." He whispered in Naruto's ear. Naruto tried to beg him to stay, but Iruka held up a firm hand. "I think you need to sort this out by yourself." He told Naruto.

He handed Naruto a little money, 'to pay for the ramen,' and left.

- 0 -

_The table…_

"OH MY GOD!" Ino squealed, "There's Sasuke-Kun! He's SO hot!" She sighed, dramatically. Temari and TenTen smiled. Ino took it as an agreement. Hinata didn't move, nor did Sakura. "What's wrong Sakura?" Ino asked, staring at friend. She'd prepared herself for a fight, but there was none, "Sasuke-Kun's here! Why aren't you reacting?"

Sakura didn't know what to do, "I—I don't feel that great." She hoped the excuse wouldn't fall flat. Ino raised her pale eyebrow, but didn't question further.

"What do you think?" Ino turned to Kana.

"Of what?" Kana asked she tucked her raven hair behind her ears. Ino's eyes widened, it was impossible. No one could be stupid enough as not to notice the sexiness that was Uchiha Sasuke.

"Of Sasuke-Kun!" Ino gestured to the raven haired Uchiha seated at the bar. "Isn't he just the _cutest_?"

Kana glanced at him with little interest, her eyes traced Ino's gesture slowly following it up to the boy at the bar. Her gaze met with Sasuke's. The electricity between them made the thin pink hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stand up with the static. She stared at Kana, then Sasuke. She could almost _see _the chemistry.

- 0 -

_The Bar…_

Naruto turned to Sasuke to find that he was staring across the room. At whom? At Sakura? _That bastard! _He followed Sasuke's gaze to Kana. _OH MY GOD!_ He gasped despite himself and Sasuke turned to face him. Naruto grinned uncomfortably.

"Hi," Naruto smirked. He knew a secret, but more importantly Sasuke didn't love Sakura, which meant she was up for grabs. Unless… she loved Lee! Or Shikamaru! Or Kiba! Or Chouji! _God forbid. _Or worse… what if she refused to give up on Sasuke? He shuddered at the thought.

Sasuke glanced back at the girl's table, "Who's that?" Sasuke asked. His voice was low, emotionless. His obsidian eyes refused to meet Naruto's. Naruto grinned, his white, fanglike teeth flashing with his smile.

"Her name's Shikai Kana. She's a ninja from the Village of the Hidden Clouds. She's going to be here for a while." Naruto told Sasuke, winding his ramen around his chopsticks. He snuck a glance at Sasuke, trying to read his emotions. It was impossible.

"Is she…" he couldn't voice it. He was confused, Naruto could tell that much. He finally felt that for the first time in his life, he could relate to Sasuke.

"What?" Naruto queried.

"Is Kana um… involved?" his voice dropped until it was barley audible.

Naruto smiled. He scooted over one seat. He understood exactly what Sasuke was going through. He felt the same way about Sakura. "I don't think so." He replied, "Iruka-Sensei told me that she's going to be on our team."

Sasuke's eyes widened ever-so-slightly. "Really?" he sounded almost excited, Sasuke fell silent. He was experiencing an emotion unfamiliar to him, one he hadn't felt since before Itachi slaughtered his clan. He could barely remember the name of it. The annoying blonde was seated at his side, stirring his ramen while sneaking hurried glances at him. And for once, in the throes of such complicated thought, he found that Naruto didn't annoy him at all.

Naruto was also quiet. He was contemplating whether or not to ask Sasuke the question that was on his mind, a question that was constantly biting at him. He decided that in Sasuke's infatuated state he could ask it and avoid being called an idiot.

"Sasuke?" Naruto found his voice to be choked and stuttering with fear, "Can I ask you something?" he tried to be polite because, seeing Sasuke like this, in love, he couldn't hate him. He almost saw him as a _friend_…

"What?" Sasuke inquired.

"Does this mean that you're not in love Sakura-Chan?"

"WHAT!?" Sasuke seemed surprised, or, as surprised as an emotionless Uchiha could seem. He ran his fingers through his raven hair in a confused fashion, trying to regain his composure.

"Sumimasen," Naruto apologized, turning his eyes to his ramen. A stray fishcake floated through it, he followed it with his eyes. "She likes you, you know." He found himself confessing, "I was just, wondering because I— I—" he stopped speaking. He couldn't say it, not to Sasuke. Not to the love of Sakura's life.

Sasuke stared at Naruto, "I'm not in love with Sakura." He stated plainly, "Do you remember our first day with Kakashi-Sensei? He asked us what we liked. I don't like much, and Sakura is _not_ one of those things."

"Oh," Naruto was on the verge of tears because without knowing it, Sasuke had just said the right thing. He'd just made Naruto's day. Naruto finished his ramen, paid the waitress, and left.

"Arigoto," was all he could say…


	3. Trapping Love

I'm so happy to be re-editing this story. I think I'm making it much better than it was the first time around. It's been like; a year since I started this, and I can't believe how much my writing style has changed.

I hope that it's getting better. I think I may be able to finish is it soon. I've already decided what the last three chapters will be called. Be proud of me. X3

The story itself has developed and changed. I am angry that I chose Luffy for my OC's name. I went back and changed it. Her look and her name.

**Main Pair: **Naruto/Sakura  
**Secondary Pair: **Sasuke/OC  
**Featured Pairs: **Ino/Shikamaru, Temari/TenTen, Neji/Hinata  
**Mentioned Pairs: **Asuma/Kurenai, Jiraiya/Tsunade

**Warnings:**_If you consider NejiHina incest, then there's incest. And if you consider yuri bad, then there's some TemaTen. So suck it up. There's a little language and some light sexual humor. *faux gasp*_

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
Fiction & Shikai Kana © Courtney Dracon (LuffySP)

* * *

Chapter 3: _Trapping Love_

_The Next Afternoon…_

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke showed up in the woods outside the village where they had their first exam with Kakashi. He had advised them to be there at noon exactly, only this time they were allowed to have breakfast beforehand. It was a slightly cloudy day. The kind where all of the clouds blend together in a sea of gray and the sun is barely visible from behind the sheen of solid gray.

Kana was seated on the ground when they arrived. She was picking pieces of grass and ripping them in half with her fingers. There was a pile of ripped grass clippings next to her. When Sasuke spotted her, Naruto was _sure _he could see his face turn ever-so-slightly pinker.

The black haired girl pushed herself up off the ground and greeted Sakura with a firm hug. Sakura was taken aback, but did not push her away. What an odd thing to do to someone you just met the day before…

"Hello," Sakura hugged her back skeptically. Naruto eyed them questionably. Sakura spotted him watching her. He looked away blushing. Kana broke away from Sakura and turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke. A small smile drifted across her features momentarily and a single eyebrow rose toward her hairline slightly.

"This is him, eh?" Her grin widened as her eyes focused on Naruto. She wiggled her eyebrows at Sakura, whose eyes widened with embarrassment. Kana's eyes shot back to Naruto. He looked at her with confusion in his eyes. "Hey," Kana held out her hand to Naruto. "I'm Shikai Kana." Naruto took her hand, the slightly rough material of her fingerless gloves rubbed against his palms. She pumped his arm up and down. Sasuke felt another unfamiliar wave of emotion wash over him… jealousy.

"I'm—"

"—Naruto." Kana finished for him, grinning. "I read minds, it's the Shikai Clan's bloodline limit." She added, pointing to her headband's symbol of clouds. Sasuke squirmed, _what if she could tell?_

Kana turned to Sasuke, and smiled. "Good afternoon, Uchiha Sasuke." Her voice was low and enticing. He blushed visibly. Sakura stared at his reddening cheeks with shock. Suddenly, her Inner-Self resurfaced. She was angrier than ever.

"**What's wrong with you? Why aren't you jealous? Sasuke's obviously in love with that girl!"**Her Inner-Self asked.

"_Haven't you been paying attention? What kind of Inner-Self are you? I'm in love with Naruto-Kun, I think. Sasuke just, doesn't do it for me anymore. I want Kana to have him. That way, she'll stay away from Naruto-Kun." _

"**I see... then why don't you do something about it?"**

"_Like…?"_

"**Like tell him! Tell him how you feel."**

"_Okay, okay." _

Sakura smiled to herself. Naruto glanced at her in just enough time to catch her in her private grin. _What an incredible smile_, he thought to himself. He smiled back and Sakura realized he was looking. She jolted and blushed, Sakura hadn't realized she was smiling!

"_YO!_" Kakashi's voice rang out through the trees. The four ninjas jumped, not one of them had been on guard. Not a single one had sensed him at all, an embarrassing rarity for at least one of the team members. Kakashi hopped down from a nearby branch, his visible eye crinkled up in a smile.

Kana was the only one who responded. "Hey!" she beamed, "I'm—"

"I know, I was told by the Lady Tsunade that you'd be joining us." Kakashi smiled down at the kunoichi, who stared back up at him with matched confidence in her stance, an identical grin plastered on her round cheeks. "Welcome Kana-San. I am your team leader, my name is—"

"—Kakashi-Sensei." Kana smirked. She shot a glance at her teammates that would have made the grim reaper shiver.

"Okay…" Kakashi continued, a little shaken up. "On a mission a person has to eat, no?" none of them answered, but nodded respectfully; "Which if you're Naruto, means that you have to eat _A LOT_!" Sakura giggled and Naruto blushed deeply. "Glad to see someone thinks I'm funny! Anyway, we're going to make simple rope traps. Similar to the one I trapped Naruto in on the day of our first fight…twice." More giggles, more blushing. Kakashi grinned.

"So, shall we begin?" Kakashi asked. They nodded acknowledgement, "I'll put you in boy/girl pairs. How about Naruto and Kana be a pair and Sakura and Sasuke are the other?" He finished to find four upset ninjas. They were horrible actors, desperately trying to hide the fact that they were upset. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, _What have I missed? Sakura was in love with Sasuke, wasn't she? I might need to keep up on this…_

Kakashi handed them pieces of cheese for their traps. The young ninjas separated into their groups of two and Kakashi threw ropes at them. Sasuke caught his and Sakura's expertly, but Naruto tripped over his and Kana's. Until finally, Kana grabbed it inconspicuously and handed it to him, whispering "Smooth. That'll attract her." she winked, Naruto blushed fiercely.

"Okay," Kakashi said loudly and Kana and Naruto turned to face him. "Both groups take separate trees there and there." He indicated two large trees that were out of earshot of one another. _Perfect. _the silver haired Jonin thought to himself; he wanted to stem conversation so that he could better understand the situation. Kakashi was much smarter than his choice in reading materials let on.

Kakashi gave them a simple set of directions and they separated and went to their respected trees. The four quickly set to work and began to chat absently amongst themselves.

- 0 -

_Kana & Naruto…_

Kana turned to Naruto, her hands were moving but her eyes remained fixed on the blonde beside her. He continued to work without noticing her at first, but then he slowly became blatantly aware of her gaze. As time went on, he began to grow uneasy. He looked up at her.

"What?" he asked cautiously. She smiled a beautiful, yet sinister smile that sent chills up down his spine.

"Hon," she began, Naruto raised an eyebrow. How informal, calling him _hon _after they had just met. She spotted this, "Naruto-Kun." She corrected herself with a more formal, although still playful suffix. "Do you wanna talk about it? We've all been there." He gasped, she knew…

_Of course she knew! _He snarled at himself, _she said she could read minds! _

"Don't worry! I won't tell her." She reassured him, lightly patting his back. "But I suggest you do because if you don't tell her quick, she could get snatched away by someone else. Like that boy with the eyebrows that look like he drew them in with a marker!" she giggled and despite himself, Naruto did as well. She was actually sort of funny.

"His name's Lee." Naruto told her, "He likes Sakura. The trouble is that she's got a _HUGE_ crush on Sasuke, but he's totally infatuated with—" He stopped himself. He couldn't do that to Sasuke. He didn't know why he couldn't. Usually, he would jump at the opportunity to humiliate Sasuke, but not today, not now. Not after what happened at _Ichiraku_.

Kana smiled again, "I loved someone too, you know." She told him, her voice fell low. Naruto looked up at her to find that her violet eyes had grown somber. He waited for her to tell her story, but she didn't and he didn't push.

They were silent for a time…

The rest of the time they had to work they talked very little, but never about love. They were preoccupied, fumbling with their 'trap' which looked like a pile of frayed yarn around a hunk of cheese, or rather a bit, since Naruto and Kana couldn't help but nibble at it.

- 0 -

Sometime later, Kakashi called to the groups. "Okay! All done?" he asked and received catcalls of acknowledgement, "Come here and let me inspect them." He marked his page in _Ichi Ichi Paradise_ by folding the corner over in a dog ear and pocketing the small novel.

Naruto and Kana turned to walk back to Kakashi. They put their feet forward at the same time… into their trap.

_FWOOSH!_

The mangled trap snatched their feet and swung them into the air. Naruto and Kana clutched each other for dear life as they swung high enough to loop the tree and fall down, only to be yanked back with a jerk. The trauma finished with them swaying lightly, upside down.

Naruto sighed and whispered to Kana, "This is the third time this has happened to me." She giggled and flashed the peace sign to the onlookers to let them know that both she and Naruto were okay. She pushed her headband back up her upside down nose. Her cheeks reddened as the blood rushed to her head.

Then came the giggles. Sakura laughed until her sides hurt, _Naruto was so CUTE! _She clutched her hips and Sasuke looked at Kana oddly.

Normally, Sasuke would glare. When Naruto did this stupid stuff it was just plain annoying, but when Kana did, it was _cute_. Sasuke confused himself. He had _emotions_ and he didn't like them.

"Well, wow… you two are just plain brilliant." Kakashi said sarcastically, unable to hide his smile from his students. "Can you get yourselves out?"

"Can do," Kana replied; she tugged a kunai from her pouch, it glinted in the light as she sliced the rope. She and Naruto fell to the ground in a giggling heap. Naruto stood up first and pulled Kana up. They grinned at Kakashi and walked to stand next to Sasuke and Sakura.

"I say we did well." Kana grinned. "We managed to trap two idiots. She picked the cheese from the trap off the ground and began to nibble it, still beaming.

Kakashi smiled back. "It would seem that you did. Good job." He glanced at Sasuke and Sakura's trap. "I think you both did well too." He gestured to Sasuke and Sakura, "I trust you a lot more than these two." Kana and Naruto rolled their eyes at one another. Sakura beamed, making Naruto's legs go weak. "How about I treat you to a bowl of ramen each?"

"YES!" Naruto shouted, hopping onto Kakashi's back "I love you Kakashi-Sensei!" He clung to Kakashi's shoulders until he fell over.

"I really don't think you're my type…"


	4. Blind Love

What's up, folks!? I'm really glad to be re-editing this fic. I think I'm gonna add more to it. I'm really getting more ideas by editing this, scribbling them down as fast as I can. Aren't you proud of me? Good fans (pet, pet) I love all of you.

Anywhoodles; I'm happy to be doing this. I'm getting oodles of ideas. The happiness bleeds from me.

This chapter is all about a retarded thing that Anko comes up with for the ninjas to get to know one another. I want to emphasize the fact that this is a comedy story. The stupidity of some of the flamers who bitch that "being a ninja is not about trust" annoy me. This is a LOVE COMEDY; it's not supposed to make any damn sense. I don't care if it follows _Naruto _exactly. I wrote it to be funny.

Somehow, I think Kishimoto-Sama would be much less pissed off that I was fooling around with the comedic value of his story, you know? He's amazing like that, you know? He actually doesn't give a shit if the fans have a little fun.

SO SHOVE YOUR FLAMES UP YOUR ASS!

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
Fiction & Shikai Kana © Courtney Dracon (LuffySP)

* * *

Chapter 4: _Blind Love_

Two days later, all the young, aspiring ninjas gathered in the same clearing in the woods near Konoha Village that Team Seven had practiced in earlier in the week. They stood, milling around amongst themselves, chatting idly.

The three ninjas from the Suna had decided to join them out of boredom. They kept to themselves, virtually silent, surveying the other students. It was sort of a fun idea to experience a different kind of education that they weren't exactly privy to in their homeland.

In Team Seven, Kana was chatting casually, desperately trying to stem conversation between the embarrassed Naruto and Sakura.

Kana ignored Sasuke completely. This did not make him happy in the slightest, but he couldn't _say _anything that would mean admitting that he had feelings for her. Or worse, that he had any feelings at all. He knew that she could read minds and he _definitely _didn't want to let her know anything (although he suspected that she already had an idea). He tossed his silky raven bangs from his dark eyes and glared at the group in his usual manner, though his face was slightly pinker than usual.

Across the lawn, Ino flipped her pale tresses off her shoulders and turned to Shikamaru, who was propped against a tree. "Shikamaru-Kun," she inquired the bored boy to her right. He raised a thin eyebrow and leaned into the tree more, placing his hands behind his head and lacing the fingers together.

"What?" he asked; his tone uninterested. Though he was making eye contact with her, it always seemed as if he wasn't looking at her, but rather that he was looking past her.

"What do you think of that?" Ino gestured towards Team Seven and Shikai Kana. Shikamaru adjusted his gaze to take in the fellow team. He returned his deep eyes to Ino and she felt a slightly odd sensation in her stomach.

"Of the Cloud Shinobi?" Shikamaru questioned, "Nice ass." He allowed her a small smile that curved up only half his mouth, a single eyebrow raised.

Ino glared. The glare was meaner than she intended, she didn't know why that comment had made her so angry, but it had. "Shut up and listen! I mean about Sasuke-Kun! He looks… _different_."

Shikamaru glanced at Sasuke momentarily and stated plainly, "Love." He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep, but Ino wouldn't let the subject go that easily.

"What do ya mean love?" she pestered, "Like, love-love? Like, what I have for him love?"

Shikamaru's eyebrows lowered into a glare, but his eyes stayed dull and uninterested. "I can't say whether or not your feelings are as strong as his. I can't measure your emotions." He snarled, "But I _can _tell when an unexpressive guy is in love, and that guy is neck deep." Shikamaru closed his eyes again and let himself drift off into a sound sleep while Ino mulled over his words.

Ino stood for a minute, contemplating Shikamaru's statement. She didn't know why she didn't even _question _his words. She just believed him, Ino bit her lip. _Why wasn't this news affecting her more? Had she fallen out of love with Sasuke? Was that even possible?_ Suddenly, something clicked but before she could confess her inner revelation, Anko appeared.

Anko trotted out from behind a few trees and called for attention. Her curvaceous body bounced when she walked, the necklace around her neck dangling between her large breasts. Next to Naruto, Temari shuddered, blushing. He looked at her. _What was THAT!? _

"Guys!" Anko yelled across the field, all eyes fell on her. "Shikai-San, come here." She said. Kana walked forward and bowed to Anko in greeting, her purple bang falling over her violet eyes. She peeked up through her long bangs.

Kana raised her head slightly and her eyes settled on Anko's chest. She shrieked, "_Oh my GOD! What a RACK!_" The rest of the ninjas stared at her. What had she just said!?

Anko blushed and frowned at her. She hadn't the slightest idea where the girl got the balls to say what she had just said, but she felt a certain amazement and approval for her guts. She sort of reminded her of herself as a kid, "Let's continue…"

"Okay," replied the girl, tearing her eyes from Anko's breasts. She snapped her attention back to Anko's eyes and grinned. _What a weird kid… _

"Good," Anko responded turning to the on looking crowd and crushing all prattle with a stern gaze. "As I was saying," a smile curled her lips, "This is Shikai Kana and for those who don't know she is the fourth member added to the three man cell of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura. Say hello!"

"KONICHI-WA!" chorused the students, Kana waved. Then Anko raised her hand to get the students' attention once again.

"Okay," Anko began, "We're going to have a new lesson. May I have a volunteer?" Naruto was jolted as Temari's hand shot up into the air like the starting shot in a race. Anko ignored her and Temari's face fell. "Kiba," She pointed to the canine-like boy "Get over here." Kiba jumped up and Akamaru, who was on his head, barked.

"What can I do for you Anko-Sensei?" Kiba asked, smiling. His already slanted eyes stretched upward until they were barley slits. Anko returned the smile then turned to the group.

"Being a ninja is about _trust_." Anko informed them, "So, I want you all to trust Kiba-San. He's going to guide you around this meadow from random positions into a straight line." She explained, popping open the kunai pack on her waist and pulling out a box of strawberry pocky.

The group sneered, walking to various spots across the lawn away from each other. _How easy was that?_ "But you'll be blindfolded! And absolutely _no _jutsu is to be used." _Okay, not so easy…_

"Place your headbands down over your eyes." She directed; they followed her instructions as she spoke them. "Now Kiba-San," she turned to the boy at her side with the dog sleeping on his head. She popped up the cap on the box of pocky and took out a piece, placing it between her lips. "Direct them."

"Okay," said Kiba a little uncertainly. "Um… Temari-San, go left." Temari did so, bumping into Gaara as she did so. "Opps!" Kiba stuttered, biting his lip in anguish. He turned to Anko contritely but she held up a hand to silence any apologies.

"It's okay," Anko reassured him, "Keep going..."

"Uh, Naruto-San! Right about four paces." Naruto went left, "No! My right!" Kiba shouted desperately. Naruto tread on Sakura's toe, she jumped, hitting Hinata who was nearby. Hinata squeaked with pain and the three of them apologized profusely to one another, though not a single one of them was facing the other.

- 0 -

Soon, the field was in total pandemonium. Anko sat on a tree branch, watching the spectacle while she giggled and nibbled on her strawberry pocky. Kiba however; was less amused. Sweating madly, totally embarrassed, Akamaru barking from atop his head as he shouted out random directions.

The display before the two un-blindfolded people was totally crazy!

Gaara had ignored all Kiba's directions and put a sand wall up around himself which poor, random people were running into. Shikamaru had made a similar choice and was currently snoozing under a tree, people tripping over him continuously.

Meanwhile, Kana had managed to take herself from one side of the meadow to the other side and she had just begun into the forest when…

_FWOOSH!!!_

"OH SHIT! NOT AGAIN!" Kana screeched as she was pulled into the air the second time in the last three days by Sasuke and Sakura's discarded trap from two days before!

Hinata was shuffling around until she hit a rock. She tripped forward and rolled down a nearby hill, screaming as loudly as her whispery voice would allow. Temari crashed into TenTen and both of them fell into Neji. The rolling ball of ninjas managed to make its way down the hill to crash into Hinata at the bottom.

Sasuke seemed to be the only one in tune with his inner eye; either that or he was cheating. He was dodging his way through the crowd with ease, untouched and not fazed in the slightest.

In the meantime, Sakura and Naruto were both working their way through the crowd as best they could when…

"NARUTO! LEFT!" Kiba screamed over the crowd. Naruto went left and proceeded to crash into Sakura. They fell to the ground with Naruto positioned awkwardly on top of Sakura. His hand had just missed her breast. Had they not been blindfolded, they would have been facing one another eye to eye.

Blushing ferociously, hoping she hadn't bumped into Lee, Sakura slowly began to raise her headband from her eyes. At the same time, so did Naruto. Their eyes met…

A blush redder than the fires of hell itself spread its way over their faces. Both of them froze, unable to tear their eyes from each other. Neither of them could move they couldn't do _anything_. On the spur of the moment, Naruto found himself leaning into her.

Sakura felt her eyes fluttering downward, the lashes brushing her cheeks. She had been waiting for this moment ever since she realized her feelings for Naruto rivaled those for Sasuke. She gazed into his deep blue eyes and a tickle ran down her spine to settle between her legs.

Naruto's heart beat faster than it ever had in his life. _Man she's gorgeous, _he thought to himself as he leaned forward. The soft feeling of her breath on his face made his stomach stir and his groin ache with unknown and untapped passion._ Oh God! I can't do this… Too late! _Naruto's emotions whirled faster than his stomach. He leaned forward until their noses brushed one another until…

_FWUMP!!! _

Kana had managed to cut herself down and fell right on top of Sakura and Naruto! "SHIT!" She screeched helplessly as she fell from the tree onto her teammates. Quickly reading their minds, she assessed the situation and pulled herself up. Ripping off her headband and pulling her glasses from the pouch on her leg, she placed them on her face. She had tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Sorry," she said lamely.

"It's okay," Sakura assured her although Kana wasn't convinced. She looked between the two sitting on the ground and found herself filled with a remorse she couldn't put into words. Kana felt as though she had just ruined what years at the Ninja Academy and thousands of missions had been leading up to.

"No, I'm really sorry! I know that—" before she could say anything else, Anko hopped down from her branch and addressed the crowd, a piece of pocky dangled from her lips like a cigarette. The frosted end was pointing outward.

"Okay guys," She shouted unable to smother her laughter, "Kiba's done a," giggles, "_great _job. So take off your headbands and see where you are." They did as they were told. Chatter of surprise and anger flooded the small clearing. Kiba was practically crying with relief.

Everyone surveyed who'd they had managed to crash into. Fights broke out like wildfire, complete with pushing and yelling. Temari, Neji, TenTen, and Hinata managed to help each other climb up the hill. All of them were covered in a huge amount of dirt and grass. Temari looked as if she was on the verge of tears. She tried to hide her face buy busying herself by tugging a twig from her hair, only Naruto noticed. Concerned, he made a mental note to talk to her after this was over.

He fumed over Kana's bad timing. It seemed like she was sorry but she had still ruined his chances with Sakura. Glowering, Naruto noticed that Kana looked depressed and anxious. She was biting her lip and tears played in the corners of her eyes as well. _Of course! _He smacked himself in the head; of course she knew he was mad. That must suck, to _know _when someone was pissed at you! He sighed, now he couldn't be mad. Damn his conscious!

"Okay guys!" Anko called, "Go home, we're all done here! But everyone please meet me at the Hokage statue in two days at two o' clock!" She grinned and winked at them then vanished.

After Anko vanished, the rest of the crowd began to exit the clearing, chatting with their friends while they walked.

Naruto made his way through the crowd to Temari who still looked depressed. "Temari-San?" he asked. She jolted and looked at him, confusion reflected in her emerald eyes. The sandy haired girl was holding her arms across her chest tightly, like she was protecting herself from an attack.

"Naruto-San, what do you want?" she asked, trying to glare though her eyes were glassy from tears. Naruto hated to see such a cocky and fearsome kunoichi so miserable. She seemed so dejected, he felt as though he had to say something…

"I wanted to know why you're so down," He smiled at her, his cerulean eyes twinkling with genuine concern "I hate to see a fellow ninja depressed." Temari was taken aback by his kindness, something that was not so common in the Suna. Her eyes scanned the clearing quickly. She seemed extremely apprehensive.

"Okay, I'll tell you what's going on." she spat in a harsh whisper. She was beginning to act more like her usual self, "It's not like Gaara or Kankuro are any help. Meet me in the ramen shop at seven, okay?"

"Sounds great," Naruto grinned, "I'm lookin' forward to it." He gave Temari a quick pat on the shoulder. In his naivety he would have never guessed that anyone would interpret it as anything other than a friendly gesture, but someone did.

Across the clearing, Sakura noticed Naruto laid his hand on the pretty sand nin's shoulder. She heard the last phrase that Naruto said and felt her stomach twitch with her pain. It felt as though someone had shoved a blade through her heart. She thought she might vomit all over herself.

"**WHAT THE HELL!?"**Sakura's inner-self smarted. **"That bastard! He's going on a date with TEMARI! FUCK!"**

Kana heard her thoughts and she turned to Sakura. "Sakura- Chan?" she whispered, Sakura turned to find Kana staring at her, her violet eyes glinting. "Let's crash a date." Kana held out her hand.

Sakura didn't even care how she knew what the situation was. She took Kana's hand in her own and shook it. "I like the way you think." She beamed, flames of determination and spite shooting from her eyes.


	5. Plants

Hey guys, just a warning. **This will not become a Naru/Hina fic.** I hate that coupling, but it's fun to use for drama. I hope you understand. Narto x Hinata is a piece of shit couple in my opinion. It makes no sense to me, the only evidence of it is from the fillers. In the comic, he shows little interest for her.

I can't stand Sasu/Saku either. Please God, don't even _try _to talk about that couple to me. It is the most _TERRIBLE _couple in the world and it makes me actually feel nauseous to even consider it. That's why I refuse to even consider writing it for a request.

I am really loving re-editing this fanfic; I'm adding stuff and taking out bad English. I think I can finally take this story off of hiatus and add to it. I'm gonna finally finish this damned thing and make it really great.

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
Fiction & Shikai Kana © Courtney Dracon (LuffySP)

* * *

Chapter 5: _Plants_

Kana and Sakura met outside the main part of Konoha Village. "Hey," Kana greeted Sakura with her usual sharp-toothed grin. Sakura allowed her a nod of acknowledgement and Kana's face fell. Sakura was still a little mad at Kana for ruining her big chance with Naruto, but she felt a little better. Maybe Kana would actually have a good idea. It wasn't like she was stupid, just clumsy… extremely, extremely clumsy!

"Yo," Sakura replied quietly, a slightly annoyed sound in her wispy voice. Kana picked up on more than the intentional disapproval in her voice, of course.

Kana frowned. "Look, I'm really sorry! It's not like I planned to fall on you guys. I really _am _sorry." Sakura watched Kana's eyes when she made the apology. They were full of pure, unbridled remorse. She was truly sorry and Sakura felt her anger towards the clumsy girl vanish in that instant. She smiled.

"Don't worry about it." Sakura sighed, a small smile appearing on her face. "Now," the smile became a beautiful grin that lit up her sparkling pea green eyes. "What's you're plan?"

Kana smiled, "Simple, we follow them. It's nothing special, but if we use our skills it'll get the job done. And maybe we'll learn something…" Kana gave her the thumbs up and slightly confused, Sakura returned it.

The black haired girl grabbed her hand and pulled Sakura into _Ichiraku_, where they found Temari sitting in a booth, anxiously twiddling her thumbs. Kana tugged Sakura behind a large fern plant, concealing them in the most obvious way possible. Or maybe she just liked vegetation.

Naruto was nowhere in sight. Kana bit her lip and turned to Sakura, whispering "Saku-Chan, is Naru-Kun always late like this? Or should we be worried?" Sakura giggled in that tinkling way of hers.

"Late… Always…" She snickered, covering her mouth trying to muffle the sound. Kana smiled, Sakura was a beautiful creature. So graceful and sweet, with a bitchy side that was both enticing and frightening; Naruto was one lucky guy.

Finally, the chiming of the bell above the door announced Naruto's arrival. The two girls hiding behind the plant perked up immediately. Teuchi, the owner of _Ichiraku_, eyed them strangely but he knew better than to mess with stalkers. Not after last time.

Naruto looked around the ramen shop, not seeing the two girls badly concealed behind the plant. He noticed Temari at a table near another brown haired kunoichi, tapping her foot restlessly.

"Hey Temari-Chan," Naruto walked past the terribly hidden Kana and Sakura and seated himself across from the gorgeous kunoichi of the sand and grinned at her.

"_Finally,_" Temari sighed exasperatedly "If I don't talk to someone soon, I am going to explode!" Naruto looked concerned. He couldn't tell if Temari was being brash or if she was serious.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, concernedly. Temari was silent, as if she was building up courage. He rearranged the plants in the vase while he sat with her, tweaking the dried Sakura leaves and feeling his heart beat a little faster. Temari adjusted herself and he turned to face her.

Temari drew a large breath and spat out under her voice, "I'm in love with Anko."

"**WHAT!"**The Inner-Sakura screeched. Sakura's mind was reeling. Kana looked just as shocked as she felt, she obviously had not taken the time to read Temari's mind. Sakura had never seen a real _lesbian _up close before. It was a bit of a taboo in Konoha, just as it was anywhere in the world, but she had never expected that the stunning, spunky _Temari _would be interested in other girls!

Sakura eyed Kana, who had begun to look excited. Perhaps she'd met lesbians before, perhaps she _was _one! Maybe her village was more open about stuff like that! She didn't know if she should scoot further away from her foreign (lesbian?) friend.

Naruto, surprisingly, didn't seem fazed. His past experiences of being ostracized by an entire village had taught him not to judge people by things they couldn't control. "Does she like you?" he asked simply, almost too mature for Naruto. Sakura was mesmerized by this kind, _smart _Naruto. It wasn't as if she didn't love the ignorant, funny Naruto she was used to, but knowing that he had such a _sexy _hidden side made him all the more appealing. Kana grinned beside her.

Kana leaned over and whispered into her ear, "Sakura-Chan, I think he's a lot deeper than you give him credit for. I'm sure this is one side of many. He's a rubrics cube and all he wants is for you to figure him out." Sakura blushed all the way to her roots. Was she right? _Please God, let her be right… _

The girls turned their attention back to the table, surprised by the ramen bowls that had appeared in front of Temari and Naruto. Neither of them had noticed the food delivered; but then again, the waitress thought they were stalkers and was doing her very best to avoid them.

Temari sighed and leaned back into her chair, poking at her ramen. "I don't know." She answered Naruto's question with the essence of tears coating her voice. The blonde boy reached across the table and patted her hand. What else could be done?

The sandy haired blonde smiled through teary eyes. Love could do that to you; he knew all too well the powers of love. Love was the impossible balance between pain and pleasure, with little equality and even less happiness, especially when you weren't on the receiving end. _Oh, he knew all too well... _

"What about you?" Temari asked, wiping her eyes, "Are you in love with someone?" Naruto froze. What could he say? Behind the plant, Sakura felt as though her heart had stopped beating. No longer was she riddled with the fear of being caught or the guilt of spying. Oh-no, _this_ was business.

"I…" Naruto began but he had trouble continuing. "I'm in love with someone." he told her, mulling it over in his mind. What if she told Sakura? Could he really trust Shinobi of the Sand? He gulped and then, in a rush before he could stop himself, he spat out:

"I'M IN LOVE WITH HYUUGA HINATA!!!"

Only the Teuchi noticed the pink-haired girl concealed behind the plant faint. Not even her friend did, most likely because she was mesmerized by the sweating blonde boy who had just screeched out the name of the woman he loved.

Or at least, who he claimed he did…


	6. Love In Bloom

It is time for this story to be continued. I know it's been a long while. But I was actually right for once; adding to the story sparked my love for it again. I actually have some sort of idea what I want to write now.

The story will have three more chapters if everything goes correctly. In this chapter, I'm going to form some of the other couplings; couples that will eventually push Naruto and Sakura together. YAY NARU/SAKU!

I wanted to take a break from focusing on the Naruto/Sakura coupling for other ones. I won't tell you which because I want you to be surprised. Yay for surprises! There are a few straight ones and one lesbian couple. I expect flames for it, but I really don't care. If you hate lesbians or bisexuals, I don't care. You should probably know _I _am bisexual. So if you hate gays I don't care, find some other straight fic written by a god-fearing pissant.

Anyway; I'm going to actually type this wonderful story now. I know that some people don't like this and some do, but I'm having fun with it. I think its fun to take time away from the complicated action-focused story of _Naruto _for a little romance; especially when it's Naru/Saku.

**Warnings:**** This chapter contains **_**shojo-ai**_**. Temari gets to be with a girl! YAY GIRLS! I don't know why you'd bother flaming since I warned you and it's obvious that I don't give two shits what you think. **

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
Fiction & Shikai Kana © Courtney Dracon (LuffySP)

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Chapter 6: _Love in Bloom_

_Shikamaru & Ino…_

Shikamaru Nara was a lazy boy, to say the least. He found life to be troublesome. All aspects of living that took any type of effort were too much for the languid shinobi; especially love. He tried not to notice girls. He attempted to focus on things he could actually understand, like clouds…

He tried not to notice girls, but that didn't mean that he didn't. He noticed one girl in particular. He'd found himself noticing her all the time. He liked her hair, her eyes, even her bossy attitude; but he wouldn't let _her _know that he noticed her. _Oh-no_, that would be too much… too… _troublesome._

Little did he know, the girl had noticed him, too. She'd been paying more and more attention to him lately, but the girl wasn't lazy. She would do something about it.

That afternoon, Shikamaru was lying on his favorite hill just outside of the main part of Konoha, watching the clouds. He didn't like to find shapes or look for pictures, the way small children did. He loved the calm way they shifted across the sky. He liked the serenity.

"Shika-Kun?" his thought process was broken by a feminine voice. He opened one eye to find a girl leaning over him. Her face was blurred by the light from the sun behind her, but he didn't need to see her to recognize the voice. It was a voice that haunted his every thought and plagued his dreams. He felt his heart twinge.

"Did you just use the name 'Shika' in reference to me?" he asked skeptically, raising the eyebrow of his open eye. The sun hid behind a cloud and the girl's face came into focus.

Ino smiled, "I believe I did," she replied playfully. She seated herself on the grass next to him, leaning back on her arms; her shapely legs outstretched, crossed over one another. He looked over at her beautiful form. She was staring out into the village, the slight breeze playing with her hair. She was quite pretty…

"Can I help you?" Shikamaru prodded. He didn't want her to go. He wanted her to say something. He wasn't exactly sure what it was yet, but he wanted to hear something specific from her. She looked at him, her deep baby blue eyes glinting in the soft light from the sun. Her bangs tickled her flushed cheeks as she looked him over.

"I think so…" she told him, averting her gaze as she spoke. Ino's usual bossy attitude had faded slightly for the moment. She wouldn't look at him. He could tell what she was feeling was confusing her. She wanted to tell him something, but he wouldn't press her. He would wait patiently, he didn't have anything to do today.

Ino took an intake of breath and let it out slowly. Shikamaru liked the way her lips formed into a small "o" as she pushed the air out between them. She looked over at him, her sapphire eyes playing with emotions. "Shika-Kun, may I ask you something?"

"Shoot…"

"How do you feel about me?"

Shikamaru felt his breath catch in his chest. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Um… I mean…" Ino stumbled over her words in a way that was unlike her, Shikamaru found this unbearably cute. He'd never seen her so flustered. She twiddled her hair through her fingers nervously and glanced from him to the sky continuously. He felt himself smiling. She was adorable.

"Ino-Chan, what is it?"

"I—I think I'm in love with you." She let out a sigh of relief. Her task was done. She had told him her feelings, she felt her chest clench as she waited for his answer.

"Love, huh? How troublesome…" she sighed, she should've guessed. Shikamaru wasn't for love. He didn't care about her. It was worth a try though… everything was. Ino pushed herself up to leave, but Shikamaru grabbed her hand. "Don't." he told her, her eyes widened.

"I don't want to be troublesome…"

"You couldn't be if you tried."

Ino felt tears come to her eyes. Never in her wildest dreams had she truly expected Shikamaru to return her feelings. She smiled and he smiled back, letting go of her arm. Ino lay down next to him, cuddling her body into his. She placed her head on his chest.

They watched the clouds…

- 0 -

_Naruto's House…_

Naruto hadn't left his bed all morning. He was coiled in a helpless ball of depression, hidden under his covers, pretending he hadn't said the _STUPIDEST _thing in the world to Temari! It wasn't like Sakura was in _Ichiraku_ to hear his answer! What was he thinking?!

He felt like he wanted to cry. Naruto ran his fingers through his hair incessantly and in a fit of rage and tried to tug his hair out. He didn't know how to make sense of what he had done. Could he take it back? Or was he doomed to Hinata now? It wasn't that Hinata wasn't cute or anything; she was just… well… _not Sakura._

A knock resounded throughout the house. Someone was at his door. "Go away!" he called, but the person knocked again. "GO AWAY!" he screamed. The other side of the door was silent. He sighed and buried his head under the covers.

_KNOCK! _

He hopped out of bed angrily, tearing towards the door. _What was this person's problem? _He was nearly at the door when…

_CRASH!_

Naruto managed to get out of the way as his door was forcibly kicked in. Kana stood in his doorway, fuming. Naruto picked up his door as the angry kunoichi barged into his home. He looked at the door in his hands, the hinges were in pieces. He fitted it back into its place as best he could. He turned to Kana, who was standing before him, her fists clenched.

"What's going on?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Kana plopped on his floor, her arms crossed. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?" she screamed at him. Naruto had no idea what she was blathering about. He sat down across from her and told her so. She looked as though he was the stupidest being on the entire planet, "Saying that you loved Hinata! What were you thinking?"

Naruto was taken aback. "How did you know that!?" he asked, exasperatedly "Did you read my mind!?"

"NO!" she yelled, "I was there! And so was Sakura!" Naruto nearly fainted with his shock. _Sakura was there?_ He'd thought the situation was bad before… could it get any worse?

"Sakura was there?" he repeated, nearly in tears.

"Yeah!" Kana shouted, barely able to contain herself. She waved her arms crazily as she spoke, her eyes wild. Her hand shot to her mouth and she began to gnaw the nails on her fingers nervously, he noticed they were already ripped past the quick and covered in dried blood. She must've been biting them continuously since the day before.

"What happened?" he queried. His eyes looked tired and bloodshot. Kana could tell Naruto had been awake all night, probably crying. She didn't need to read minds to realize that. Part of her wanted to give him a hug, but the other part wanted to bash his head in.

"You wanna know what happened?" she asked. He nodded and Kana took a large intake of breath and then spat out, entirely in the same breath, the whole story:

"Okay, okay! She thought you were taking that blonde girl on a date. So we followed you to _Ichiraku_ and hid behind a plant.

She was all 'Look at Naruto-Kun, he's so concerned about his fellow shinobi, how hot!' and I was all 'Heck yes!'

And then, the _really, really, really, really, really, _sexy Sand Nin was like 'I'm a lesbian!' and I was all 'Heck yes!" and Sakura was like, 'Gasp!'

Then, you said 'That's totally cool.' And I was all 'Heck yes!'

And _then _the incredibly hot girl said 'Do _you _love anyone?' And I'm thinkin': 'Heck yes!'

Then you, you STUPID IDIOT went all: 'Yes! I'm in love with Hyuuga Hinata!'

And I was all: 'Heck— _WHAT!?_'"

She finished her story and stared at Naruto, who looked back at her with his simple blue eyes glazed over with his confusion. "So she heard?" he asked, stupidly.

"HECK YES!!!" Kana screamed.

Naruto bit down on his lip so hard he could feel the skin ripping beneath his teeth and sat for a moment in silence, contemplating what Kana had said. "Wait! You said Temari-Chan was hot, does that mean you're—?"

Kana cut him off, "NO! I'm not a lesbian! If you must know, I'm bisexual. But that's _beside _the point! Look what you've done!"

"Well, it's fixable, right?" Naruto asked, running his fingers through his hair. "I mean, all I have to do is tell Temari it was a lie and then it's all over, right?" he asked, hoping she would tell him what he wanted to hear. She frowned and shook her head, his stomach dropped to his feet.

"Not right!" Kana told him, her violet eyes frantic, "Temari already told Hinata what you said. Hinata wants to talk to you about it today. They sent me here to tell you to meet up with her." She tucked her raven hair behind her ear and pushed her glasses up her nose with her middle finger. "You're going to have to turn her down there."

Naruto swallowed. He didn't want to do that. He didn't want to make another person sad, but if it meant saving his relationship with Sakura he had to do it. "When?" he asked Kana.

"Like, now! She wants to meet you at _Ichiraku._" Kana informed him and then added "Why does everything seem to happen there? Don't you guys have anything other than that place around here?

- 0 -

_Naruto & Hinata at Ichiraku…_

Naruto walked into the Ramen Shop for the fifth time that week. He had never thought he'd hate any place that served ramen as much as he did at that moment. He spotted Hinata sitting at a corner table, twiddling her thumbs.

She really was very cute, in a black T-shirt with a hood and her clan's symbol on it. She had a long-sleeved grey shirt with a black stripe running down the arm underneath it. Hinata looked up and waved Naruto over. He gulped and then walked to his doom.

Naruto sat across from Hinata and smiled weakly. He had to do this, he reminded himself. He had to break this poor girl's heart for Sakura. _For his love…_

Naruto began, "Hinata-Chan, I—"

She held up a surprisingly firm hand that silenced him, "N—no, Naruto-Kun, I have to speak first." She told him, authoritatively. _What was going on? _He wondered, but listened quietly as she spoke. "Look," Hinata began. She wouldn't look him directly in the eye, "I'm f—flattered by your proclamation of love, but…"

_But!? _Was Hinata _dumping _him!?"But…?" he prompted her.

She sighed and looked into his eyes with a somber expression in lucid purple irises. "But, I already have a boyfriend." She patted his hand, "I'm sorry." She said apologetically. His eyes widened, but he remained speechless as the realization of what she had just told him washed over him.

It took everything Naruto had not to scream and jump up and down with his excitement. He wanted to skip out of the shop but his curiosity got the better of him, he asked Hinata, "Who?"

"Am I dating?"

He nodded.

Hinata's blush seeped across her face and she looked down at her hands. "Um…" her voice dropped, "N—N—Neji-Kun…" his mouth dropped open.

"But aren't you—?"

"Cousins? S—sort of…" she beamed at him, "But it's not illegal. We're from different branches of the family." her translucent eyes glowed with her words. Naruto never remembered her talking so much. "But it doesn't matter anyway," she sighed, "I love him."

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat._ How come everyone else in Konoha was getting their happy ending?_ He came to a sudden revelation. He looked up at Hinata…

"Hinata-Chan, may I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I lied."

She looked confused, "About what?"

"When Temari-Chan asked me who it was I loved… I lied. I said it was you because I didn't want anyone to know who I am really in love with." He was surprised by his own honesty. Hinata's eyes widened, and then crinkled with another smiled.

"I understand that," she said, her voice light, "it's Sakura-Chan, isn't it?" Naruto blushed and nodded. She smiled wider, "I thought so, I always did… well…?" she said, suddenly, "What are you doing here? Why don't you go do something about it? You can't always be shy!" she laughed and Naruto found himself laughing with her.

He was glad she was so happy and that love had brought the pretty little caterpillar out of her silken chrysalis.

- 0 -

_Temari is thinking…_

Temari was seated under the large statues of the Hokage. She was deep in thought, her eyes blank with contemplation. She was thinking about all that was happening to her. She'd come out to Naruto, a ninja she barely knew. Yet, somehow she felt a connection to the boy, perhaps because he had a beast in him just like her little brother.

Temari sighed and leaned back against the railing on the stone wall she was seated on. _What now? _She'd admitted her attraction to Anko. Though that could change, Anko was more than six years her senior, plus, she probably had no interest anyway…

"Temari?"

Temari jolted from her thoughts and looked up. A pretty little kunoichi was walking toward her. She had two brown buns the color of chestnuts on top of her head, a pink Chinese-style tank top, and white pants. Temari recognized her from the Chuunin exams. _TenTen…_

"Yeah?" Temari asked, more snidely than she had meant to.

"Is this seat taken?" the girl gestured to the spot next to Temari on the wall. Temari looked around. There were tons of other places for her to sit; why did she want to sit so close?

"Uh… no, it's not taken, have a seat, I guess." Temari told her, scooting over a bit. TenTen seated herself next to Temari. They were quiet for a bit. Temari looked over at the kunoichi next to her. She was a gorgeous little thing. She loved her hair. She almost wanted to _touch _it.

They were silent.

"Temari," TenTen began, Temari looked up at her. The brown-eyed girl turned her gaze to Temari. "I wanted to tell you, I thought it was really cool when you came out yesterday." she told her, her eyes glowing.

Temari's eyes widened, "You heard?" she asked.

TenTen nodded, "I was right behind you in _Ichiraku_," she told her. "I thought it was brave. It… well, it…" she stopped, blushing; she smiled at Temari, who was stunned. She scratched the back of her head at the nape of her neck. This pretty thing, the one she'd beaten to a pulp at the Chuunin exam was paying attention to her now? Wasn't she mad? Temari had showed her no mercy in that battle.

"What did it do?" Temari asked her, she'd become very interested in the little kunoichi.

"It inspired me" TenTen flushed, "to tell the person I'm attracted to how I feel." She smiled to herself, looking up at the wall of the Hokage. Temari waited for TenTen to continue.

"Oh? Who would that be?" Temari asked her, smiling. She looked down at her perfectly manicured nails and began to pick underneath her them, trying to distract herself from the feelings welling up inside of her.

TenTen looked at her and smiled, "You…" Temari's heart skipped a beat.

"R—really, is that so?" Temari questioned, trying not to show her excitement or confusion. TenTen grinned. "What are you going to do about it?" Temari asked her and TenTen's beautiful smile grew wider.

"This," she leaned into Temari, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her into a kiss. For the first time in her life, the sandy-haired kunoichi let her guard down. She allowed the kiss to consume her as she opened her mouth to accept TenTen's tongue. It was the first time she had ever kissed another woman and she felt sparks from the moment her lips met TenTen's. She let herself fly away with the kiss to a whole new world of possibilities.

She never wanted the kiss to end, but when it did she wasn't disappointed. TenTen's new dominating attitude vanished and she became her usual shy self. Temari could take her place as the top of the new couple.

"Now what?" TenTen asked.

Temari grinned, "Now, we have some real fun!" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and TenTen caught on, matching her devilish grin. Temari pushed her back against the railing and pressed her mouth against her neck and a hand on her breast.

- 0 -

_Neji & Hinata…_

"You talked to Naruto-San?" Neji asked Hinata, who was leaning on his shoulder. They were on a couch in his house. She didn't answer immediately, but instead buried her head in his shoulder, taking in his scent. She snuggled into his shoulder and kissed his neck lightly.

"I did, he told me that he's in love with Sakura-San." Hinata told her boyfriend, smiling up at him. "I had already suspected it, but I'm glad that he finally said it out loud." She admitted.

"I see," he said, contemplating the answer. "Did he ask for your help?"

"I offered my advice, he didn't ask. He seemed… lost." She sighed, "Like I was before I found you." he smiled at her, running his fingers through her short purple hair. Neji leaned down into her and placed his lips over hers.

Her lips were soft on his. Neji adored the way they felt. He used the tips of his fingers to tip her chin upwards and he slipped his tongue into her mouth and drank in her essence like a rare wine. Hinata sighed into his mouth. He loved the way she gave herself up for each kiss, her eyelashes fluttered down and her cheeks turned pinker.

Hinata broke the kiss, "Neji, please… I want to talk about Naruto-Kun." Neji glowered, he hated that his girlfriend's past crush, a boy that had defeated him in battle, had broken into their conversation.

"What about him?" Neji queried, his worries escaped from him, "You're not—?"

Hinata's eyes widened as she realized what he was try to ask her. "Oh! God, no! I'm not still in love with Naruto-Kun!" she assured him, "I just understand how he's feeling! I want to help him…" She looked down at her knees, her plum colored hair falling over her face. She looked over at him, a slightly pleading look in her eyes.

"I understand," Neji hugged her. She buried herself into him, nestling herself in his chest. "I'll help you. We'll get them together, I promise." Hinata smiled up at him, her eyes alight. She took his collar in her fingers and pulled him down into another kiss.

- 0 -

_A meeting at Ichiraku…_

"I've gathered you here today to discuss a problem at hand." Kana addressed the group she had organized at _Ichiraku_. They had pushed two tables together and were eating, listening to Kana. The black haired exchange ninja looked out at the ninjas staring back at her.

Temari, TenTen, Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Sasuke, Ino, and Shikamaru stared back at her. The group had congealed themselves through each other. Kana had found Temari making out with TenTen and begged for her help. Temari agreed and TenTen followed her.

Hinata had found Kana at the Yamanaka family's flower shop. She was busy pleading with Ino and Shikamaru to help. Hinata asked if she could join in on the entire charade with the promise that her boyfriend Neji would help the situation as well. She also told them that Kiba had assured her of his aid as well.

Kana didn't know how Sasuke had figured out about the entire situation but he had arrived anyway, more to see her than anything else.

"I know what you're all thinking; that I don't have any idea about the situation. But the truth is; I have a lot of an idea of what is happening here, today." She smiled, "Pardon, I can't talk correctly when I'm all excited." She flipped her black hair off of her exposed shoulder and looked over the table at her fellow conspirators.

"Do you have any idea what you want to do?" Kiba asked her in his dog-like voice.

Kana nodded, "Nothing really." They stared at her. "No, no, I mean all we have to do is set up a situation and let the course run naturally. I think they're meant to be. So if we make a setting, it's inevitable that they will be together." She explained. The plotters looked at one another, considering her ideas. She seemed as though she had a good head on her shoulders and wasn't planning to screw with anyone. She appeared to be a trustworthy person…

"Well, okay, that sounds reasonable…" TenTen agreed, "What's your set up?"

Kana grinned, "Well…"


	7. The Set Up

It's the chapter where Kana and Sasuke finally get together. So deal with my evil. I love my little OC. **Sasuke will be a **_**little **_**out of character. **I just hope her plan is good… once I think of it… SHUT UP! XD

I was thinking about my OC, I was worried she would become a Mary-Sue, but then, I read this story by some chick where her OC, a girl whose entire village was slaughtered, gets into relationships with every single shinobi boy in Konoha. It was so cliché… I never thought that anyone would write such an awful "MarySue-Esque" story.

The sad thing was that the girl actually had good writing style, a good grasp on the English language. But in her story, not only were there no other couples, but she didn't even _mention _the other girls, really. It was like her OC was the only kunoichi. I hope that you don't feel that Kana is like that…

I'm having fun with the 'Heck Yes' thing…

Anyway; I'm working on this story a lot. I have another cool idea for another Naru/Saku story. The couples will be similar, except it will have some Kaka/Sasu and some Gaa/Lee. It's a really fun idea about a party being thrown in Konoha. I just need a band name. Anybody wanna throw me some ideas? The band is Sasuke's and he's the lead singer. It contains Gaara (bass) and Kiba (drums), there's another player on guitar, but it's a secret. X3

This is probably going to be the second to last chapter and then, this will be my first fully completed multi-chapter fanfiction! I hope you appreciate all the hard work that went into it because I try very hard. I really do! I want you guys to have fun when reading my fictions. Have fun, it's just for that.

Some people have asked what Kana looks like. She is about 5'6" and 128 lbs. She has long black hair falling past her shoulders. A purple streak falls over her left eye. Her outfit is a shiny blackish violet halter that wraps around her neck. The back is low. She has a short white skirt and tall black violet sandals. The name "Shikai Kana" means "Sight Power". Since she can read minds, I thought "Shikai" was a good name for her clan.

**NARUSAKU FOREVER!!! ((runs away)) **

P.S. SasuSaku sucks ass.

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
Fiction & Shikai Kana © Courtney Dracon (LuffySP)

* * *

Chapter 7: _The Set Up_

As Kana exited _Ichiraku_ she thought back to what had happened since she came to Konoha. She was happy with the way things were going. Everyone was really concerned about Sakura and Naruto. They wanted them to get together. Kana thought it was sweet that people could care so much about each other. She was glad that people of the Hidden Leaves cared so deeply for one another. She hoped she could bring that back into her village.

"Kana-San…" She turned to find Sasuke, following her up the street. He looked as though he had something on his mind. She raised an eyebrow. "I need to tell you something."

She stopped walking, "What?" she questioned, her usually brash attitude was masked. She was calm and collected. She was going to play with Sasuke. She knew what he was going to say, she just wanted to hear him say it out loud before she gave him any kind of satisfaction.

He took a large intake of breath and stumbled over the words he'd never thought he'd say, "I—I like you…" he spat out. She smiled slowly. It was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"I like you too." She told him. He blushed, surprised.

"R—Really!?" he said almost excitedly, but not enough to break his usual somber demeanor. Kana nodded and they stood there for a minute before Sasuke asked, embarrassed, "Now what?"

Kana turned back into her old self and burst out laughing. Taken aback, Sasuke's face reddened, "You have no idea how this works, do you!?" he blushed harder. "You kiss me now, stupid." She grabbed his navy shirt and tugged him into a kiss.

The chemistry between the two was palpable. Sasuke didn't understand love very well. He thought being alone was the only way to go, but the more time he'd spent near this girl, the more he'd realized he was wrong. Everyone deserved to be happy… even him.

Kana ended the kiss. She smiled at him, "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Anko wanted to meet us at the big ass Hokage thing at two. Goodnight."

"C—can I walk you home?" He said, smiling slightly. The first sincere smile he could remember wearing since his parents' death at the hand of his brother all those years ago. Maybe happiness wasn't so far away…

Kana held out her hand and Sasuke took it. They entwined their fingers and she flashed him her spiky toothed grin, "Heck yes!" she beamed.

- 0 -

_The Next Day…_

A collection of ninja waited underneath the wall for Anko. It had been only two days, and yet so much had transpired since they'd met in the clearing. There were four new couples that had all managed to get together over such a short amount of time.

Naruto and Sakura, sadly, were not one of the happy couples. They were far away from each other as the teams waited for Anko to arrive. They both saw when Sasuke and Kana ran up into the crowd hand-in-hand.

If Sakura had been drinking anything, she would've spat it out. _Sasuke and Kana!? _They'd gotten together before her and the man she loved? That didn't seem fair! Sakura burned with jealousy. She wasn't jealous of Kana, she was jealous of the couple. She was happy that they'd found each other, she just wished she could have the same satisfaction.

Sakura looked over to see Ino's reaction to the new couple. She was surprised to find that Ino could care less about Sasuke and Kana. She was far too busy chatting animatedly with Shikamaru. She was seated on his lap, absentmindedly playing with his hair while she spoke. Shikamaru didn't seem the least bit upset at having Ino pampering him while she talked endlessly. He was smiling slightly, listening in that bored way of his.

Neji and Hinata were conversing quietly. They had their foreheads pressed together and their fingers entwined. Sakura had never seen Hinata talk so much in her life. She was still quiet and shy, but she seemed so much more at ease with herself now that she had Neji's hand in hers.

The couple that struck her the most however, was Temari and TenTen. They had skipped past conversation entirely and were kissing shamelessly. It didn't disgust her to see two girls kissing; she just didn't realize that they had so little shame! She wished she could do that!

She looked over at Naruto. He was staring around at all the couples with just as much surprise as her. Sakura wondered what he was thinking, wishing she had Kana's mind reading powers.

If she _had _had mind reading powers, she would've have known that Naruto was having the same problem. He watched the couples with burning jealousy. He wanted to be happy too. He had every right to, didn't he?

The chatter was cut short as Anko appeared unexpectedly in a puff of smoke. "Hey guys!" she looked around, spotting all the new couples immediately. She smiled, "Looks like love's in the air!" she said and then, noticing the gloomy faces of Sakura and Naruto she added, "Well, for some of us at least."

"What are we doing today?" Kiba asked, fearfully, "Please God, don't make me—"

Anko cut him off, grinning, "Don't worry, Kiba. I'm not going to make you guys do anything like that today. Kiba won't be in control." The entire group sighed in happiness. Nobody wanted a repeat of the last time. "Does everyone remember studying Chakra placement? Focusing your Chakra into a specific part of your body?" they nodded, "Great. What did you do?" she asked. Naruto raised his hand. She pointed to him.

"Kakashi-Sensei made us climb trees." he told her.

She grinned and clapped her hands together, "Perfect!" she smiled, "Because I want you to focus all of your Chakra in your feet and climb up the wall." Nearly everyone's mouths dropped open. She returned the shocked looks with a grin.

"That'll spend all of your Chakra, though!" Sakura cried out fearfully, "If you fall, you could die!" Anko smiled devilishly and nodded.

"If you're talented then you'll be able to save yourself when you fall. Use your personal talents so you won't fall to your demise. But when you climb up, I expect you to use only your feet and your control of your Chakra. Just like last time, there will be no jutsu." She eyed the group, an evil glint in her eye "Got it?" she asked. They nodded shakily.

"What if we can't control our Chakra well?" Kana asked, sweating slightly.

"Then you die." Anko laughed sinisterly.

Kana's eyes widened, and Sasuke squeezed her hand. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I'll never let you fall." She blushed slightly and stood up with more confidence.

"You're so lame it's adorable." She whispered back into his ear. He blushed and frowned, glaring at her out of the corner of his eye. She smiled back at him and kissed his cheek playfully. Sasuke's blush intensified and he looked at his sandals.

"Get ready!" Anko screamed. The young ninjas arranged themselves in a line at the base of the stone Hokage. "Get set!" They stood erect, eyes closed, focusing their Chakra to their feet. A low current of energy vibrated the ground. "GO!"

Clothed feet slammed into the base of the rock and pattered upwards like hail on a tin rooftop. Temari pulled ahead of everyone else. She ran to the chin of the first Hokage, but slipped over a dusty rock. She fell backward. In a flash, she grabbed her fan off of her back and whipped it open, gliding down safely over the tops of everyone's heads. Temari flipped the fan closed and landed on her feet in front of Anko, tucking it on her back. "Shall I try again?" she asked. Anko smiled and nodded, gnawing on yet another piece of strawberry pocky. Despite having a girlfriend, Temari blushed. It wasn't all that easy to get over an attraction to such a stunning woman.

Temari shot back up the stone faces of past Hokage.

- 0 -

Meanwhile, Hinata was struggling, clinging desperately to the lips of the Third Hokage. She felt her fingers slipping. She couldn't get a good grip on the giant's lips. Her sweaty fingers slid off of the granite.

Hinata screamed. She had no way to slow herself, she would die. Tears sprang to her eyes, she clenched them shut. Suddenly, she felt another's fingers entwine with hers. She opened her eyes looking up into the sun blurred view of her savior, but by the way the hand felt, she knew who it was.

"I love you." She told her rescuer.

"I love you too." Neji smiled down at her.

In the meantime, Kiba was scaling the faces with ease; clawing into the stone. When he felt himself beginning to fade, he wedged himself into the Second's nostril taking deep breathes. He smiled to himself, waiting for the perfect moment to enact Kana's plan.

Kiba knew his job. He needed the moment.

His moment came as soon as an orange jumpsuit fell past his perch. He watched Naruto fall. In mid air, he saw the fox boy throw a kunai into the wall. Looking closely, he spotted the thin thread of Chakra attached to it.

Naruto pulled himself to the wall and skidded downward, landing at the bottom a little dusty, but generally unharmed.

Kiba smiled. Step one was complete and he didn't have to do a thing. He slipped his head out of the Second's nostril and looked around. Looking down, he spotted Sakura running upward directly underneath him, her face concentrated.

He studied her face, she wasn't looking at him. Akamaru barked in his ear, telling him it was time to do it. Kiba nodded and growled lowly, drawing saliva into his mouth, forming a wad of spittle and mucus. He hawked a loogie. It landed directly in the middle of Sakura's forehead. He grinned and stealthily receded back into the nose.

- 0 -

Sakura felt the wetness on her forehead. She didn't even see it coming! Startled, she lost her footing and fell backward. In her fear, she couldn't think of a way to save herself. She screamed as loudly as she could. She wondered why people screamed when they were falling, as if it would slow them. Like it would form some sort of sound ball for her to land on…

At the bottom of the statues Naruto heard a familiar scream. He looked up, and caught sight of the pink-haired girl falling. He focused his Chakra into his feet, though the energy wasn't his. His love for Sakura brought out Kyubuui's red Chakra from the depths of himself.

He ran up the side of the stone wall at super speed. From the base, Anko watched in amazement as the blonde boy rushed up the faces of the Hokage, a trail of dust forming behind him.

- 0 -

Sakura felt like there was no way she could escape. She would die here; there was no one who would save her. Not Sasuke. Not Kana. And especially not Naruto…

Without warning, she felt someone's arms grab her waist. She was pulled back into a warm body, she clenched her eyes shut as her savior skidded down the wall; still clutching her to their body.

She couldn't hear the noise, couldn't feel the dust, and couldn't see her savior. She could smell them, though, they smelled like… _ramen._

Suddenly, the movement stopped, and in a sudden influx of activity, all of her senses returned. She could hear the gasps, the calling of her name; could feel the grittiness of the dust in her mouth. She felt like crying, how embarrassing…

- 0 -

From the top of the wall, Kana's voice rang out to her fellow conspirators, "It's happening! It's happening!" nine pairs of eyes flew to the bottom of the wall.

"Do you think he'll do it? Or will he chicken out?" Temari asked as she flipped up onto Tsunade's stone eyebrows.

"I hope not," Hinata said as Neji tugged her up to the top of the wall. She seated herself next to Kana and looked down. "I want him to be happy…" she sighed, tucking her purple hair behind her ear and bit her lip nervously.

"I think he's gonna do it!" TenTen yelled as she flowed up the wall with ease, using her weapons to pull herself to the top of the stone.

- 0 -

"Sakura-Chan, are you alright?" A husky voice asked her, choked with fear. She opened her eyes to find Naruto staring down at her, his blue eyes full of concern. His face was twitching slightly. She felt the shock wash over her.

"N—Naruto?! You're the one who saved me?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah…" Naruto blushed, avoiding eye contact. His nose twitched and she smiled up at him. She liked how it felt in his arms. She felt whole, and protected, yet, she felt, if she were back on her feet… she could protect him right back. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

She voiced her concerns, "I—I thought you were in love with H—Hinata!" Sakura found herself shaking in his arms, clenching onto his orange jumpsuit in fingers like vice grips. She looked up into his deep cerulean eyes, begging for the answer she needed to hear. It would be a moment before he stuttered out the words she was hoping for.

"No, not at all." he told her, "I'm in love with—" he started to confess, but found himself without words. _What if she turned him down? _That would do him no good at all.

Maybe the risk wasn't worth taking…

"Who are you in love with, Naruto-Kun?" Sakura prodded him. _Please say me! Please say me! PLEASE SAY ME!_

Naruto's blue eyes flickered with his inner confusion. The boldness he usually held vanished as the thought of all the possible outcomes of the situation. He didn't like his odds. So he stuttered, "O—oh! No one! I'm not in love with anyone."

He placed her on her feet; where she stood, stunned, and ran up the stone faces of the Hokage. Dust blew back into her face. She couldn't move, for her surprise.

As he ran up the wall, Naruto contemplated what he had done. His face burned with his embarrassment. But it was better to pretend he didn't care than to put his heart on the line and have it crushed by the pink-haired vixen.

Love is a many splendored thing. It holds pain and happiness. Your love can destroy you if it is not reciprocated… or even worse… if it is, and then the love of the person fades and they leave you out in the cold, begging for them to return. Some spend their entire lives trying to understand love; yet others, pretend it doesn't exist and don't bother when they fear their heart might be broken, then, they spend an empty existence, never discovering the joy and sadness that can only be shared with another person.

- 0 -

The Conspirators sat at the top of the wall, dumbfounded. Hinata was nearly in tears, her desperation shone in her huge eyes. Kana fell backwards onto the stone and screamed into her hands, more angry than anything else…

"Idiot... idiot… idiot…" Kana mumbled endlessly as her fellow schemers chattered around her. They were in a circle, separate from the group of ninja (including Naruto) that were waiting for Anko. They kept their voices low, their tones serious.

"I didn't think he would back out like that…" TenTen muttered, frowning. "I feel bad for him, I think that he believes if he tells her his feelings, they won't be requited and he'll be left with nothing to fall back onto…" her birch eyes flashed, "I know I did…" she muttered, blushing. Temari placed her arm around her girlfriend's shoulder and pulled her firmly into her body. TenTen fell silent. She smiled into Temari's shoulder.

"I think he was just being a dolt." Kiba spat, angrily. Akamaru barked in agreement.

Neji nodded, "He should've just gone through with it; what does he have to lose?" he asked, tucking his long hair behind his ears and crossing his arms.

"Everything…" Sasuke murmured, eyeing Kana; who was still on the ground, shielding her eyes with her arm, mumbling to herself. Neji looked at him, than at Hinata, nodding to show he understood where he was coming from.

"It's just fear." Ino said, placing her hands on her hips, indignantly.

"Fear drives us all…" Hinata whispered. Everyone looked at her, their eyes wide. It was rare for her to be so vocal with her true feelings. "I believe that it will destroy us too; we are so scared of the outcomes of situations we over think them rather than just doing what we know needs to be done…" Everyone was quiet for a moment, considering what she said.

Suddenly, a voice that had been silent the entire time spoke.

"We're gonna have to pull out the big guns…"

Everyone turned to Kana. "What?" Ino asked, raising a pale eyebrow in confusion. She never understood this weird little exchange ninja. "What are you talking about?" she repeated herself.

"We're gonna have to pull out the big guns…" Kana repeated; her arm was still slung over her eyes. Her black hair sparkled in the sunlight. She removed her arm from her face and pushed herself up onto her elbows and frowned at the onlookers. "They're not going to do this easily…" she muttered.


End file.
